Metrophanes III of Constantinople

His All-Holiness Metrophanes III of Constantinople was the Patriarch of Constantinople for two periods, from 1565 to 1572 and then from 1579 to 1580. He was outspoken in expressing tolerance for justice and peace towards members of other faiths by the Orthodox Church.

Little is known of his life. He is believed to have been born in 1520 and reposed in 1580. He may have been Metropolitan of Caesarea. [1]

In 1568, during his first period as patriarch, Patr. Metrophanes issued a strong condemnation in an encyclical concerning mistreatment of Jews in Crete, stating in the document: "Injustice ... regardless to whomever acted upon or performed against, is still injustice. The unjust person is never relieved of the responsibility of these acts under the pretext that the injustice is done against a heterodox and not to a believer. As our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospels said do not oppress or accuse anyone falsely; do not make any distinction or give room to the believers to injure those of another belief." [2]